Author
Topic: My 3rd Staffordshire (Read 1077 times)

I found this cheese and make procedure here http://www.ukprotectedfoods.com/staffordshire-cheese-pdo/ and made two of them last year around this time. I vac.bagged the first one I made and let the 2nd form a natural rind. The two cheeses were quite different in result, texture wise, and can be expected. The vac. sealed one was very moist and creamy (see here http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9852.0.html), quite a soft cheese (but not like brie soft) while the natural rind firmed up and was sharper in taste (see here http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9889.0.html). You wouldn't have placed them as the same cheese at all. Anyway, it's a very straightforward make procedure. While it can, apparently, go to market in as little as 2 weeks (mild is 2 to 4 weeks), the one I tried that young (the vac. bagged one) was too mild and quite bland. Now, I didn't have the cultures they mentioned and just used buttermilk for that make, so this is not definitive and if you have access to strains of lactococcus lactis subsp.cremoris, lactocuccus lactis subsp. Lactis and lactocuccus lactis subsp. Diocetylactis, that's what is officially used.

Anyway, will update the notes when the cheese is in the press and will add photos when it's out.

Staffordshire Sunday, July 21, 2013. Sunny. Air pressure:1012 18 C 71% humidity from (http://www.ukprotectedfoods.com/staffordshire-cheese-pdo/)11 L whole milk (Budget Blue TOP; 3.2g protein/100ml 3.3g fat)300 ml cream (Pams; 2g protein/38g fat for 100 ml) (total = 4.22g and 3.07g/pro / 100ml; 0.75:1 p:f ratio in total combination)Starter 1 cube mw3 * 1 cube buttermilk 7.15 ml Renco rennet (65 IMCU)2.5% salt by curd weight½ tsp 50% solution CaCl26.26” tomme mould1) Add CaCl2 to milk during prep.2) Add starter3) Warm to 32.5 – 35 C (34.0 C 7:32 am)4) Ripen 60-75 minutes (7:32 - 8:3?; ??.? C at end)5) Ensure temperature between 31 and 33 C, if not warm to midrange)6) Add rennet (7.15 ml Renco) (8:40:00 temp 33.5 C)7) Floc time 8:51:30 = 11m 30sec 3.0 x floc = 34m 30sec cut time 9:14:30 (floc may have been quite a bit sooner as I was distracted. Went with 3x floc rather than 3.5(NOTE: in original info, rennet to cut is described as 45-50 minutes in one place, but in same document as 35-45 minutes, so multipliers anywhere between 3.0 and 3.5 look good)8) Cut curds (size not specified so I go with 1 cm cubes); heal 15 min (9:22-9:37)9) Keep temp at 30-32 C and stir for 40 minutes (9:37-10:17; 31.5 C)10) Allow curds to settle 30 minutes (10:17-10:47)11) Remove whey (whey off requires 35 minutes in large batch, so settle for 30 min above; done 11:04; placed 3 litres of whey on top of “sacked” curds to help expel whey)12) Break curds every 15 minutes over 45 minute period (11:19 & 11:34 & 11:49)13) Mill to thumbnail size and add salt (2.5% by curd weight curds - 1972g x 0.025 – 49.3g; my notes for my first make indicated it was a bit salty, but my 2nd make didn’t mention this – which means it was fine. I’ll go with 2.5 again for the rubber)14) Mix salt by turning curds 4 times (more will dry out curds too much)15) Move to cloth lined mould, press at 2 PSI over night at 21-25 C) (10 kg = 0.72 PSI for 30 min 12:12-12:42 , then flip/redress and 20 kg 30 minutes 12:49-1:20, and then flip/redress and 30 kg = 2.15 PSI 1:20 – 1:40 (forgot to flip last weight change, so flipped at 1:40) 1:40 pm - 6:00 am.) 16) Cheese out of the press 1686g 15.6 x 7.7 cm = 1471 cm3 = 1.15g/cm317) Age at 7-10 C, turn daily for a week, then weekly 18) Age 2-4 weeks (mild) or up to a year. (I like it aged a few months. My previous make was really good at 4 months; I found a vac. Bagged version a bit bland when young, but improved when aged to 4 months. Vac bagged version much moister and milder flavoured, the two cheeses were very different final results due to the difference in aging technique. A brine wash to get a schmier might work well. ) Got 424 g ricotta (raised to 93 C, added just shy of ¼ cup cider vinegar, waited 20 minutes or so). Added 6g salt.

Friday, Sept 20, 2013: Cut day. Have brushed off the linens over this past week. Cheese now 1398g, 14.8 x 6.7 cm, = 1152 cm3; 1.21 g/cm3. Cheese nice and moist. Nice mild, but tasty, flavor. A good outcome and would make again.

« Last Edit: September 20, 2013, 01:08:25 PM by JeffHamm »

Logged

The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

Yah, I was impressed with the amount of detail they provide. It's a POD, so knowing the procedure doesn't help. It has to be made in Staffordshire to be called that (so, this is Staff of the Shire perhaps?)

Anyway, out of the press it looks promising as the knit is very good. A bit large 1686g, but the density is typical (1.15 g/cm3) so that's a good sign. Will see how it progresses.

Just an update on the care of this one. After airdrying for 4 or 5 days it went into the cave. Then, after a week from the press, I started wiping it down with saturated brine, top and sides, to get a schmier going. I've been doing this twice a day (I use quite a light amount of brine when wiping it down, so it's not kept wet like a swiss). A light schmier is starting to come up after a week, so I'll continue doing this "until it's good enough", which could be a week or so more. The rind is clear, though a bit of blue has crept into some crevices. As it dries, moisture escaping creates a few cracks/holes/imperections in the rind and moulds get in. Anyway, will see if this rind treatment creates an overly salty cheese. I'm hoping, because of the size of it, the inner paste will be fine and this will create a good protective rind and all that. We'll see.

- Jeff

Logged

The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

This is now 6 weeks old. The wiping with the saturated brine has resulted in a wild b.linens taking hold. The ring around the upper face was due to some wild blue, but it's been brushed away the other day. It's now weighing in at 1545g, so still quite a heavy cheese. Not sure how long I'm going to age this. Probably not more than 3 months though.

Cut this last night. Cheese is now 2 months, down to 1398 g, and a density of 1.21 g/cm3. It's very moist, has a nice flavour, on the mild side but not bland. Good texture, but haven't tried melting it yet. I upped the amount of cream I used to 300 ml (my previous 2 makes added 100 ml) so that may have made a bit of a difference. Anyway, I've been brushing off the linens over the past week. It's taken a few goes at it because I didn't put it under water to wash them off, just would give it a good brushing each day and eventually got them off. They haven't imparted a huge flavour, but there are hints, which makes for a nice result.

Thanks HA. I just washed this with saturated brine, and also, anytime moulds started to show I would brush them back with a nail brush (that I keep in the cave for this purpose). The brushing back any moulds this way, even without the brine washing, generally produces a nice wild rind for me. Good luck with yours. I'm sure it will be great.

- Jeff

Logged

The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

I've aged one out to 5 months or so before and it was very nice. But, it is nice as a young cheese too. Even if I had decided on agining longer I would have taken the linens off around now. This isn't intended as a washed rind cheese, and the linens that I got were just a wild helper. However, they have provided some nice notes to the flavour, in just the right amounts. There's no bitterness, and the rind is quite edible too (tried some this morning). It has a very clean, cheesy taste to it, with just enough linens to know they're there, but not so much to make you think it's a washed rind cheese. I think this, like caerphilly, might be a good beginner cheese. It's a straight forward make procedure, doesn't even involve a change in temperature, so it's really one where you just pay attention to the texture of the curds. It's also ready fairly soon, though less than 2 months would be premature while caerphilly is ready in 3 weeks or so.

- Jeff

Logged

The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.